Massawyrm digs COWBOYS & ALIENS

Easily this summer’s most divisive film, COWBOYS & ALIENS comes at you like a balled fist ready to pummel you into geeky submission. It is, from the outset, a mean, ballsy, fun genre mashup that feels very much like the films of the Seventies and Eighties. The character development is brisk and slick, and the setup leaves you at the end of act one with the promise of one of two films – and the question as to whether you love this or not depends very much upon what you want out of it once the aliens show up. One possibility is a dark, gritty, Carpenteresque film loaded with anti-heroes; the other is a fun, popcorn chomping romp that makes safe, mainstream choices instead of risky ones. Weighing in at a reported $163 Million, you can probably guess which version of the film they went for.

And that’s where the film, for many, will go astray. Act one, as I wrote about seven months ago, is a pitch perfect western. We meet our protagonist (Daniel Craig) a bad man with a sordid history and a problem with his memory, and his foil (Harrison Ford), a grizzled cattle rancher/town patron with a dark past of his own and a son who causes more trouble than he’s worth (Paul Dano). After a feisty series of misfortunes, Craig and Ford are played on opposite sides, with plenty of reasons to hate one another. But when the alien attack forces them to work together, the film then shifts from its seemingly dark roots into much friendlier waters. That’s when it goes from being RIO BRAVO and becomes INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Now for many, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I, for one, enjoyed the hell out of the goofy mashup. The film is loaded with great characters, each portrayed by a top notch actor, with even the small, most thankless roles filled out with incredible talent. When Craig and Ford aren’t giving it their all, we get Keith Carradine, Clancy Brown, Sam Rockwell, Paul Dano, and Adam Beach all in top form, doing what each does best. No one half asses it here and there’s enough clever writing to give each and every one of them their moment in the sun. But with that much promise on screen - all of whom have proven a number of times that they are adept at dark material - it’s easy to see why some might be pulling for something closer to THE QUICK AND THE DEAD than the STARGATE we end up with.

Compounding matters is an alien menace we don’t get to know very well. They look cool as all hell and they’re mean fuckers, but the fact that Favreau plays them in a hard sci-fi manner – without any sort of ability or desire to communicate with the human characters – we never get to know them outside of why they’re here and what they want. The void left by this problem is no doubt where the conflict between Craig and Ford was meant to fill, but the film begins to cast them both in a very sympathetic light. What appears to be a pair of anti-heroes forced to work together soon becomes a pair of misunderstood characters slowly becoming real heroes against a nigh faceless enemy.

And that’s where the film’s theme kicks into high gear. COWBOYS & ALIENS is a film entirely about redemption. It’s no accident that the film opens in a city named Absolution. Clancy Brown utters the film’s most important line in the first ten minutes: “The Lord don’t care about who you were; he cares about who you are.” Every time the film has a choice of which direction to go, this is the way it always swings. And ultimately, that’s half of what I love about it. This is a summer film with soul. But it is neither a deep message nor a subtle one. And at the end of the day, that proves to be the final nail in the coffin for many.

Do I think this had the potential to be a badass, mean little sci-fi infused western? Sure. But not for this budget, which means not with the cast that makes this what it is. This is a movie bowled right up the middle of what Cineplex goers are looking for – more SILVERADO than ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. If what you’re hoping for is a lively summer tentpole with great creature effects, awesome action setpieces and some fantastic performances, you’re going to have a great time. But if you want something along the lines of a brooding genre masterpiece, you are going to be sorely disappointed. And I can’t blame you. Favreau made a Hollywood movie through and through, and this doesn’t have enough surprises or bold choices to make it anywhere near a classic. It’s fun – a lot of fun – and little more.

...and it's shit. There's no character to the film and - more to the point - no characters IN the film.
Visually it's indistinct too. It's crying out for a Sergio Leone take on the material, but instead what you get is a lumpy, xeroxed version of John Ford...with some deeply uninteresting Independence Day style aliens.
As with Iron Man 2, a great cast is pissed away, with only Clancy Brown, Walton Goggins and Sam Rockwell looking like a) they belong in the old West and b) rising above the morass of the wafer thin writing.
All in all...very weak.

The badguy is only slightly less faceless than in natural disaster movies but they still usually have all the same other problems. Their plots peak too soon, have cheap resolutions, and usually fail to involve memorable characters.

It's not a "summer movie" to be sure, but it appealed to me nonetheless. It was mostly a western with aliens in it. The story had to pick a side in that equation and they chose well I think. It was small scale and the characters were as developed as the story needed them to be. Will the general movie-going public see this? That I'm not so sure. I predict Cap will be #1 again this week. But if you like westerns and you like Sci Fi, then you should see this. The rest of you with your pseudo-intellectual breakdowns of all things cinema that use descriptions like "it was shit" or "the _____ was a mess" probably wont like this. However I don't think those people like anything or at least they pretend not to.

MASSAWYRM DIGS COWBOYS AND ALIENS...
So why does this read like an apologist review?
He keeps saying 'for many' and that he wouldnt blame viewers who are disappointed. He also falls into the classic geek reviewer trap of saying its not as good as the film he had in his head. If only they'd done this instead of that, Massas version would have been brilliant...
Doesnt really sound like he digged it at all.

that what Massa described it as.
Has there been any indications this would be a
serious, dark sic-fi film?
I'm not familiar with the comic, how is that in tone compared to the movie? Anyone care to enlighten me?

July 29, 2011, 7:22 a.m. CST

by Cobra--Kai

Who the fuck is viggeo morgenstein?
A twat who thinks comments like 'viggeo-power' and 'word up' make him look cool.
No. They make you look 11.

July 29, 2011, 7:26 a.m. CST

by Cobra--Kai

When you hit enter on your posts do you stand up and shout 'Viggeo-POWER!' at the screen?
You do, dont you.

It's you. Don't deny it. You created the 2nd viggeo handle to create your own little cheering section, because you saw the attention genderbender/blender has been receiving, and you wanted in on that sweet, sweet talkback glory.
And the fact you bring it to our attention in this talkback, only solidifies that inference.
It's pretty sad if you think about it.
CHOPPED.

Shit. How long did it take you to write that? It's amateur.
quote: How did Cap GROW? What precisely was his character arc? His journey?
Uh, he did what he set out to do in the beginning: he joined the army and served his country, saving it in the process from those rocket bombs that were to destroy major cities. He sacrificed his life (or so he thought) for the good of his country.
Yeah, no growth there.

Christ, Massa, why'd you have to go and describe a film I'd much rather see?
We need a new Carpenter. I've long maintained that the closest we have right now is Paul W.S. Anderson, and that kind of close isn't even within missile-distance of the target. I have hope for him... tiny, tiny hope.
Actually, scratch that -- if someone in Hollywood were to give Neil Marshall his fucking due, ie a budget and hands-the-hell-off, he'd out-Carpenter Carpenter.
I'll wait for home video on this, I think.

Search in AICN for "the_choppah" and then do a search for "da_choppah"
The earliest appearance i found for CHOPPAH is August 2010. DA showed up a month later after I got banned. That should clear up any gray areas for ya!

A very balanced review. And even if you don't like that Massa liked the film, at least he's given us an idea of what to expect.
Massa mentions ID4, Stargate and Silverado... Sounds like my kinda film - I can live with that! Really, this is Jon Favreau territory - have fun with it, don't take it too seriously, create something for a mass-market with a good-value cast.
People who comment on this site seem to want everything to be high-quality, thought-provoking, infinitely detailed in characterization and skirting the edge of.... well, everything really.
Surely, there must be room for pure entertainment? With Favreau's name on the tin, you can't be expecting much more than that!

If you read between the lines of their reviews, both Massa and Capone either disliked or were bored with Cowboys & Aliens.
Of course, since the movie is receiving a promotional push here, through cast interviews, access and what-not, they can't come right out and give it a scathing review.

That seems to be a category of film Hollywood has completely forgot about. If C&A is like Favreau's earlier works than I'd expect fun but not stupid is what we are in for. These days we get either get "smart" but not very fun movies or "fun" but extremely stupid movies. The great blockbusters of the late 70s to early 90s were able to avoid that conundrum.

The exceptions are Favreau's own first Iron Man film, and most of the stuff from guys like Christopher Nolan or Danny Boyle, or even Ridley Scott and the occasional Spielberg film.
So yeah, they still make those, but are exceedingly rare.
I'm not sure if it's a director deficiency, a studio interference issue, or that the current crop of screenwriters aren't up to the standards of the Robert Townes, William Goldmans, Lawrence Kasdans, Frank Darabonts and Scott Franks of the world.
Just because you're making a big studio, commercial 'popcorn' movie, doesn't mean it needs to be stupid. Great filmmakers prove that, again and again.

After the Great Purge of 2010, also referred to as the Sally Menke Incident, in which The_Choppah (we were allowed to have capital letters in our nicks back then) and many other Talkbackers were were unfairly banned a great many variations of Choppahs appeared in the Talkbacks.
Among them Da_Choppah, The_Choppah_Strikes_Back, Return_of_The_Choppah, Son_of_The_Choppah, and my personal favorite, Tuesdays_with_The_Choppah.

Choppa,
I've flamed you many times, but I've been busy, and unlike your dumb-ass...I have a life n00b.
Been awhile since I've done TB because I'm trying to be a Citizen, and working guarantees Citizenship.
Would you like to know more?
Bug plasma was recently discovered as the reason The Choppa is a fucking retard. When the bugs shoot it out into space, somehow it makes Choppa even a bigger retard. And you can't go full retard.
Would you like to know more?
Your a fucking dumb-ass Choppa. You've been on the TB's now for like years straight, and yeah you've chewed through a lot of trolls, but you've become the biggest troll-fail of all time yourself. Your worse than TOTALFUCKINGDESTRCUTION. At least that guy pisses off most of the time. Take a hint asshole.

I like to garner the admiration of young choplings. I take it as a complete that I've chewed through a few trolls.
Peanutbutterslu, I hope we can become close friends and that you will allow me to hopefully garner a more favorable foothold in your circle of friends.
Thanks for your insight, peanutbutterslu.

As in, I've seen the trailer, and it looks like a fun time at the movies to me. I never thought this would be a super serious type of western, or something along the lines of a Leone one either.
Now, that would be an interesting take. A dark Leone style version of this concept. Maybe with Clint Eastwood in the Dollarhyde role and a younger Harrison Ford in the wandering stranger role that Daniel Craig plays in this. Maybe directed by Spielberg of the late 80's, early 90's. That would have been something, ehh?
Anyways, that isn't the film we are going to get. So judging from the trailer, and the fact that Jon Favereu directed this, I think it deserves a chance. Fav has directed some pretty darn good flicks (Elf, Iron Man 1+2).

Dog Soldiers was kinda Carpenteresque.
Then there's Doomsday, which was basically part homage to Escape From New York.
I loved both of these films, as well as The Descent and Centurion. Hopefully he'll get to do some more genre pics in the coming years.

I got exactly what I wanted, Harrison Ford and Daniel Crag being bad ass cowboys and fighting aliens. Plus, I enjoyed their chemistry. Could have done without the crazy bitch sitting behind me ranting about how much she hated horses the whole movie....

Please tell me the standards haven't been lowered that much?!?! Can anyone honestly name a single character from his films that are worth noting?
There will be no new John Carpenter. If there could be, than Carpenter wouldn't be who he is. Just like there's no new Kubrick, Leone, or Hitchcock. Anyone who's good enough to actually be compared to the greats do so by bringing something new to the table. And when they do that, that's when they become unique.
I look at Alien, and I can see 2001s influence all over the camera work and pacing. I look at Blade Runner, and I see an artist who has become confident. With Blade Runner, Scott truly became himself. He has his influence/inspiration like anyone else. But he wasn't burdened with paying homage or simply copying them. He merely learned from them.

I totally agree.
I was merely suggesting that Neil Marshall has made a Carpenter homage film, but has also done several other films that were more or less trying to be their own things. Also, Marshall is similar in the sense that he has made several horror/sci-fi/action films that were not big budget affairs aimed at the kiddie audiences. The Carpenter parallel I was aiming for is that he is more or less making films that fill the same type of niche that Carpenter's films did back in the day. Mainly the lower budgeted R-rated genre flicks that can be a bit more down and dirty due to not being aimed at the mass audience that a film like say Avatar or Transformers is going for because it has to due to budgetary reasons.
I also hope that Neil Marshall, or any other filmmakers in the sci-fi/horror/fantasy/action genres don't try to become the next John Carpenter, or the next [insert popular filmmaker's name here].
I am also against the whole aping of a classic or contemporary master filmmaker's style (see: Super 8 and J.J. Abrams' desire to be the next Steven Spielberg).

Kevin McKidd from Dog Soldiers was pretty memorable to me. Same with Liam Cunningham's corrupt general from the same film.
The Descent not so much.
Doomsday... we had Rhona Mitra being pretty badass. Her character was memorable just for the fact that she was not so talky and her artificial eye was pretty damn cool too. The cannibal leader guy was awesome too. His whole song and dance for his followers before they cooked a person alive and ate him was definitely memorable.
Fassbender's character from Centurion. He did a great job with that one. Then again, Fassbender is pretty damn great in just about any film he appears in these days. Also, Olga Kurleynko's mute Pict warrior woman was extremely memorable. She was fierce and just brutal. Definitely a good villain.
So while none of his characters have reached the legendary status of some of Carpenter's creations: Micheal Meyers, Dr. Loomis, Snake Plissken, and MacReady from The Thing... I'd hardly say that Neil Marshall's characters were not memorable or compelling to watch.
Who knows though, Neil Marshall might make a film someday that hits a nerve and captures a much larger audience than he has so far with his current line up of completed films. I think he has it in him to do it. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

And takes B-level premises and treats them with A-class. THAT's what makes him the 'next Carpenter'.
Whenever I say 'next so-and-so', I'm talking about someone filling a void, not doing an impersonation. Right now there are two filmmakers I can think of who make R-rated genre fair for grown-ups -- and it's Marshall, who is outside the system, and PWSA, who is very inside, but has an awesome wife and makes cheap-but-profitable trash that could be so much better.

Lets not be fucking coy. It gets filmed in New Mexico so the state writes the production a 30% check to the producers. So don't go all crying about how they spent $163 mil on this, when they allready get back 30% of their cost before it ever hits theaters.

Massawyrm made a vow to erode all the few remaining respectability he still had by keeping supporting dumb stupid crappy movies like this. Does he think this is necessary for his emerging screenwriting career? Is he avoiding aienating the people who might be feeding him? One hand washes the other type of deal?

I fully agreew ith you about Neil Marshall, he is the real deal, and he treats his hommaged movies and his own movies quite seriously while at the same time never forgetting to make them fun. I'd say he is the only filmmaker right now who's making movies in the spirit of old Carpenter.
But i'll have to disrespectfully disagree with you about Paul WC Anderson. Anderson ight try to be a younger Carpenter, but he fails miserably in his intentions, if that is his intentions. He does come up with intriguing premises for his movies, but he always fucks up the execution, always, without fail.

Orci only coems in here to get his ass kissed. Which used to happen a lot. Nowdays he's not getting the ass kissage he used to get, but he still comes her einthe hope people will go on their knees in admiration and go sycophantic on his ass. A year ago that happened, and it was pornographic in it's amount and intensity. and it froze over, but Orci still returns to have his ass washed with geek's saliva. Only he's not gettign all that anymore.
It's not courage that makes Orci come here, it's his desire to be adored.

Take Christopher Nolan's example. so many people saying he's the next this or that. When instead he opted to be the next Christopher Nolan. It's this type of directors we need more, filmmakers who are their own men.
As for Marshall, he achives a very difficult thing: his movies are fileld with hommage,s and yet he makes them their own movies. He actually use hommage to help tell and advance the story, instead of guys like, say, JJ Abrams who stop their movies dead for the hommaging trickery.

...but you review this? I'm in no position to judge this film's quality (though I can't say I'm too optimistic) but I'm genuinely wondering why you've skipped all of this year's Marvel movies. Have you sworn off them or something?